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Wednesday, 12 January 2011

Happy Birthday To Me. Part One: Amigos Mexican Kitchen

BLOG UPDATE - NOTE THAT AMIGOS HAS NOW MOVED FURTHER UP LONDON ROAD AND IT'S MORE OF A RESTAURANT THAN A CAFE. THE MENU HAS MORE VARIETY TOO.

Yesterday I hit 31. Initially I didn't think too much of it. I didn't think it would be as bad as hitting 30 and I thought that as I had survived the 30th, I would easily cope with the 31st. Well, things weren't as easy as I had hoped! Firstly there was no excuse to have a mad party or to make my husband splurge on expensive gifts. Instead, all I could think about was the fact that I had now well and truly left my twenties. Sigh...

After celebrating with the girls at the weekend (another depressing experience as we ended up in a nightclub full of kids), I wanted to celebrate the day itself with Gav. The plan was to wander down London Road & Abbeydale Road to Bragazzi's where we would have coffee and lunch. The weather was kind to us. Sure it was cold, but it was bright and brisk and DRY.

London Road is a true haven for me and if it wasn't for the football crowd (it is very close to the Sheffield United ground) I would seriously consider living round there. There are restaurants and takeaways galore and some of my favourite eating places have a London Road address. It's always difficult for us to walk down here and as we wandered down we had to resist many temptations and focus on our plan that was Bragazzi's.

I was looking forward to some cheese, some meats and some good coffee. I also wanted to pick up some supplies from their deli for an upcoming Italian feast. Unfortunately, on this occasion, the deli counter looked rather bare, and there were just a few sandwiches left for lunch. Instantly disappointed we decided to just have espresso whilst we revised our plan. We sat outside on the busy road and had a bit of a wait for our espresso, but once they arrived we quickly swallowed them down; they were good and a perfect boost to fuel us for the walk back into town.

As we walked, I tried to persuade Gav to give Amigos Mexican Kitchen a go. I had heard lots of good things about this place, but Gav wasn't so sure and I couldn't really understand why! Especially as he hadn't even heard of the place! Anyhoo, my powers of persuasion worked and we stopped off on our way back into town.

The interior is pretty simple; more of a cafe than a restaurant, which was perfect for us as we had plans for dinner later. The interior is pretty basic with a few tables scattered around. It's garden furniture, mostly. Think uncomfortable chairs and wobbly tables.... but this isn't, or shouldn't be, a problem. You won't lounge here for hours on end with endless courses. You will eat and go. There were quite a few people popping in and out whilst we were there and the tables were somewhat in demand. Given that this was a Tuesday lunchtime, the place was busier than I thought it would be.

The menu isn't huge and it's Tex Mex stuff - fajitas, tacos, nachos, chilli etc. We order quesadillas. I had beef steak, he had chipotle chicken. I also, in the interest of being somewhat healthy, decided that we should share a salad and we order the cactus salad.

Our food arrives. The quesadillas came with a small salad on the side and a selection of nachos. We also had some guacamole, soured cream and salsa to share. They were GOOD! The flour tortilla was crispy, well more flaky than crispy, and they had the texture of a thin pastry. Brilliant and so far away from the packaged stuff we buy in the shops. My steak was tender and in a sauce of tomatoes, onions and spices. There was also cheese, quite a lot of cheese, which is great for me! The side salad was nice and fresh with a few beans in there too and the nachos were very moreish. The guacamole had the right amount of heat, but I wasn't that bothered about the salsa or soured cream as I didn't feel that the quesadilla didn't need any added flavour.

Gav's was good also. It had more heat than mine and was smoky from the chipotle. He ate quickly and quietly - a sure sign that he was enjoying! The cactus salad was fresh and light. Again, there were beans in there, and coriander too. The cactus itself looked like strips of green peppers and didn't have a strong memorable flavour, so I'd have it again, but I wasn't wowed by it. Shortly after starting our meal, the chef, and owner, came out and offered us chilli oil. Great. Loved it! It had a bit of a smoky flavour and it pepped up the salad no end.

There was ample food and for once we were pleasantly full, but not stuffed. I think the salad helped! All in, with a bottle of water and a can of ginger beer, the meal cost us less than £13. Tremendous value given the quality of the food.

Sheffield has been lacking a decent Mexican eatery for a long time. Yeah, we've got the standard Italian come Mexican restaurants, but their food is generally overpriced and their focus is firmly placed on the party atmosphere only. Amigos is different. The food is good and you come here to eat, not to swig gallons of wine and dance on the table tops. I'm impressed and I think you will be too.